Good afternoon, my name is Carmen Dixon, I am a Community Organizer at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund for its Policing Reform Campaign. In early 2015, LDF along with Legal Aid Society settled our federal class action lawsuit, Davis v. City of New York, challenging trespass stops and arrests in NYCHA buildings.

In a letter detailing the intimidation experienced by one of LDF’s own attorneys, who was engaged in non-partisan poll-watching during the primary, LDF contacted the Alabama Secretary of State expressing concerns over potential voter intimidation and called on him to reach out to county election officials in advance of Election Day to ensure all poll workers are properly trained and aware of the laws governing voting rights.

Appeals Courts are Dismantling Stricter Voter ID Laws

In August, a federal district judge in Corpus Christi, Texas, approved a settlement agreed to by state officials that voters without the state-approved ID should be able to sign a declaration that they faced "reasonable impediments" in obtaining one.

Those voters must be allowed to cast a regular ballot after they show an alternative form of ID, such as a voter registration card, utility bill or other form of government ID that's not on the state's list.

On April 4, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Michael Slager shot and killed Walter Scott, an unarmed African-American father, as he ran away during a routine traffic stop. The incident was caught on video by a local bystander, and confirmed the demand for significant changes in policing practices across the country.

New Concerns About Voter Intimidation

A group called "Vote Protectors" is trying to recruit 3,000 poll watchers in key battleground states. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund's Sherrilyn Ifill and Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice join to discuss.